Notes and Editorial Reviews

There are three issues attendant to this release—format, edition, and performance. Truth to tell, I’m not in a position to address the first of them, that of format. The disc is identified as “hybrid multichannel,” which is to say that it will play on both super audio and standard CD players. As I’ve not converted to a new SACD system, I am obliged to play this disc on my old equipment, on which it sounds just fine. I can only assume that it will sound even better on a SACD player. How much better, of course, I can’t rightly say.

As for the edition, Mackerras has chosen to record this latest attempt to rescue Mozart from Franz Xaver Süssmayr, whose completion of his mentor’s final, unfinished masterpiece has beenRead more unendingly controversial. Thus the Levin edition, used here, receives its second recording in as many months. Acting on the premise that the student must have had at least some input from the master, Levin has sought to improve on, rather than to discard, Süssmayr’s efforts. Apart from the thinning of the sometimes heavy-handed orchestration, Levin’s handiwork will be most evident at the end of the Sequence, in the Sanctus, the Benedictus, and the Agnus Dei. I was favorably disposed toward Bernard Labadie’s version, recorded by Dorian, in Fanfare 26:5, noting that “Listeners familiar with Süssmayr’s version can expect from time to time to find themselves in terra incognita, but rarely disoriented, as Levin’s emendations seem well conceived and are smoothly integrated into the fabric of the work,” and concluding that “I will listen to (Labadie’s) recording again.”

It’s perhaps unfortunate that the new recording has followed so quickly on the heels of the other, as it casts a modicum of doubt on the concluding statement of the older review. If you have already invested in the Dorian album, it will serve you well, but it now seems more likely that I will turn to the Linn recording when I choose to hear the Levin edition. Mackerras, one of our most reliable conductors in so many areas of the repertoire, here proves his mettle once again. With a splendidly responsive choir and soloists to match, he leads a performance that is admirably paced and lovingly shaped throughout. The solemn Adagio and Fugue is a welcome bonus. Recommended.

-- George Chien, FANFARE [9/2003]

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.Read less

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: ( 1 Customer Review )

Neither the music nor the performance is particulFebruary 16, 2015By William S. (Renton, WA)See All My Reviews"Those reading this should be aware that I don't play any instrument, nor do I have musical training. &gt;&gt; It goes without saying that we tend to accept the original version of any work of art. (It was disturbing to learn that the manuscript for James Agee's &quot;A Death in the Family&quot; arranged the material differently.) To me, Schumann's revision of his second symphony seems superior to the original, the original sounding rather &quot;clunky&quot; at spots. &gt;&gt; This reworking of the &quot;Requiem&quot; by Robert Levin attempts to correct those Sussmayr errors that are contradictory to Mozart's style. * The result is something that, in the first Amen, the Hostias, and elsewhere, sounds as if it had been written by some other -- and lesser -- composer. The overall darkness of Mozart's setting is weakened. &gt;&gt; My less-than-sanguine feelings aren't helped by Mackerras' conducting. He is not on my list of favorite Mozart conductors; his symphony cycle is rushed and charmless. His interpretation here seems somewhat perfunctory and lacking depth. &gt;&gt; Nor is Linn's recording quite up to its best, missing that last measure of &quot;living presence&quot;. But even if it were that good, it couldn't compensate for what I find a seemingly unnecessary musical &quot;fix&quot;, and less-than-inspired conducting. It is virtually impossible to recommend this recording. &gt;&gt; * I can't help but think of the &quot;corrections&quot; perpetrated on Mussorgsky's works."Report Abuse